Various kinds of seed treaters are known for applying chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides to seeds prior to planting. In that such chemicals may be extremely expensive, seed treaters need to efficiently and uniformly apply the chemicals to the seeds with minimal waste.
Always in grain and seed handing, including seed treating, cleanliness and minimization of debris is important. Accumulation of debris can lead to pest issues and even fire/explosion hazards or contamination issues. Seed treater containment is conventionally formed by cutting, forming, welding, and otherwise assembling the containment base from multiple parts. Seed treaters that are formed from multiple components necessarily have crevices and junctures and corners that can collect debris. Additionally, welded junctures may have weld defects and/or be subject to failure.
Commercial seed treaters must be able to handle different types of seeds and varying chemical treatments, both in application rates and selection. Treaters are commonly called batch treaters and continuous flow seed treaters. In continuous flow treaters, the seeds are dispensed in a cylindrical curtain of falling seeds and a horizontally sprayed shower of liquid chemical intersects the curtain of falling seeds. The seed then typically falls and is guided into a cylindrical mixing drum to uniformly coat the seeds. The continuous flow seed treaters typically have no close tolerances gaps between high speed moving components and stationary containment components. Moreover, continuous flow seed treaters generally do not have the type of gaps and crevices that the seed, seed debris, and chemicals can fall though out of the seed treatment flow path to accumulate.
On the other hand, batch treaters treat a fixed amount of seed at one time, typically in a high speed rotatable bowl arrangement. Such seed treaters have a stationary containment securing a rotatable bowl therein with a small gap (for example 0.025 in.±0.010 in.) between a peripheral upper edge of the bowl and the containment. The containment comprises a containment base and a cover. The containment base has a cylindrical side wall that conforms to the peripheral upper edge of the bowl, a floor portion, and an open top; a cover covers the open top. Such batch seed treater must be carefully manufactured to exacting tolerances, particularly the rotatable bowl and containment such that the gap is sufficient to preclude contact between the rotatable bowl and the containment wall while minimizing seeds, seed debris, and chemicals from falling through the gap into the interior of the containment below the spinning bowl. Inevitably, this region will receive and accumulate debris from the treating process. Such debris requires periodic removal and cleaning. The containment with bowl may be disassembled for cleaning. Alternately, relatively small removable access doors allow cleaning without disassembly. The seams, cracks, and interior corners of conventional bowl containments can make such cleaning difficult allowing accumulation of debris. Keeping the size of the gap between the containment and the spinning bowl reduces the amount of seeds, treatment chemicals, and other debris that fall below the bowl. Particularly for larger batch seed treaters, such as for containments 30 inches in diameter or greater, manufacture of such batch treaters is tedious, difficult, and expensive, and typically each containment base is manufactured individually to match a specific bowl.
Cost effective improvements in manufacturing and performance and minimization of junctures and welded joints and difficult to clean corners in seed treaters would be welcome.